Slumdog Billionaire
by rayj829
Summary: End of s3 AU one-shot (Jenny and the hotel trade never happened). After Vanessa temporarily moves in with the Waldorfs at the end of the girls' 2nd semester at NYU, a visit to her new place in the slums gets Blair thinking about the next step in her relationship with Chuck.


"Well... considering the area, it's not terrible for a studio apartment," Blair overheard Cyrus comment as she looked around the tiny studio apartment in Dumbo. The electric red lighting of the building sign outside illuminating into the main living area as she noted it was probably smaller than the dorms at NYU.

 _Yuck!_ she thought to herself as she peaked into the bathroom. _Who in their right mind would ever willingly choose to live here?!_ she continued to herself. The bathroom was so disgusting and lower class she couldn't help but turn up her nose and try not to gag.

"And she said her friend will be moving into the unit next door?" Cyrus continued.

"That's correct, dear," Eleanor confirmed as she took a look around the small space, attempting to hide her lack of approval. It made her pleased to know that her own daughter held much higher standards for living.

"Well in that case, if this is where she wants to move to I think it should work for her needs..."

"You can't be serious!" Eleanor exclaimed. She couldn't believe her husband actually approved of this place. "She can't live here! No one can! This place isn't up to our-"

"Our standards, no. But remember, Vanessa's been on her own the last few years, she knows this area and it is her choice," Cyrus reminded them all.

"Yes, well... if she didn't want my opinion then she shouldn't have asked us to come take a look at it," Eleanor responded, taking one last look around before heading towards the door. "Let's get going – the chef is making my family's famed chicken dish tonight," she added as she stepped out into the rundown (for her standards) hallway.

"Mother... if it's not too much hassle, would it be alright if Chuck joined us for dinner?" Blair asked. "I've hardly seen him all week." She couldn't help but notice her mother removing a small handkerchief from her purse before pressing the button on the elevator.

"Yes, dear, that would be fine," her mother responded, focusing on not touching a thing.

 _Dinner, my place – now._ Blair quickly tapped out on her phone.

It was true, she had hardly seen her boyfriend all week, what with her finals that she had been feverishly studying for and couldn't bear to have any distractions (Chuck being the biggest distraction of all) and with him looking into other business endeavors.

 _Demanding are we?_ Chuck responded almost immediately.

 _They're making mother's chicken tonight..._

 _Mmm, you know how much I love your mother's chicken._

 _Not as much as you'll love what I've planned for appetizers and dessert..._ Blair replied back with a devilish grin. She hadn't even noticed the elevator ride down and the walk through another grim hallway out to the car.

 _I'm on my way_ , she read as she climbed into the town car.

* * *

"So Vanessa's finally moving out?" Chuck questioned as they laid together on top of Blair's duvet, his lips delicately finding their way along her neck. He sighed in relief as he took in her scent. This week had been long for them.

"Yes, thank God!" Blair exclaimed. Having to share space with the Dreds of Dumbo these past few weeks had been frustrating to say the least.

"How did she even get your mother to agree to letting her stay for as long as she has?" Chuck half wondered, somewhat distracted.

"I don't know, something about her connection to Jenny and Cyrus taking pity on her..." She still wasn't sure why Vanessa couldn't finish out the semester in her own dorm, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let the girl stay at the penthouse alone with her mother and stepfather. While taking pity on her was one thing, she couldn't bare the thought of them actually taking a liking to the girl.

"And your parents had to go see this apartment why?"

"Because Cyrus is a lawyer and she wanted his input?" Blair offered up.

"And this wasn't something the Humphrey's could have helped her with?" Chuck pointed out.

Blair merely shrugged.

"And remind me again why you just had to go with your parents to see her new apartment?" Chuck curiously asked.

"It was a chance to bond with my mother and Cyrus?" Blair offered up, not really believing her answer herself.

"Sure..." Chuck breathed along her neck, knowing that response was crap.

"And okay, honestly... I was a little curious," Blair admitted.

"Curious?" Chuck paused, slightly lifting his head to get a better look at her. Her serious expression made him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Look, Chuck... you know I love you and I know you love me... this past year has been great – wonderful in fact - but I also know the thought of commitment can scare you-"

"Blair, I've been fully committed to you this past year we've been together and even sometime before that if we're really being honest," Chuck corrected her as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"I know... but..." she paused. Chuck felt the fingers she had been running through his hair this entire time suddenly stop, followed by her shifting herself upright, turning to look at him. "Have you... given any thought to our future?"

"Our future?" Chuck repeated, prompting her to elaborate as he propped himself up on his side.

"Yes, like the next step in our relationship," Blair clarified, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "What if... what if we got a place of our own?" she finally suggested.

"In the slums?" Chuck questioned with a slight laugh.

"Of course not!" Blair declared with a small smile as she playfully smacked Chuck in the arm, relaxing a little as she slid back down to his level on the bed as it was obvious he wasn't completely turned off to the idea. "Why would you even suggest that?"

"Well you're the one who said Vanessa's apartment made you curious," he reminded her as he reached over and gently stroked her arm.

"Yes, curious about getting a place of our own – but not in the slums," she reiterated.

"Well you could always move into my penthouse," Chuck offered up, not even thinking twice about it.

"With you and Nate?" Blair questioned with a look of disgust. "No thanks – I think having to deal with Nate's revolving door of girlfriends would be a bit awkward... not to mention you know we tend to be a bit... vocal," she grinned as she ran a finger down the buttons of his dress shirt. "We need someplace where we can be as loud as we want and not have to worry about anyone we know overhearing," she finished with a soft yet firm kiss on his lips.

"But I thought you liked that?" Chuck grinned against her lips.

"Ugh, that's besides the point, Bass!" Blair exclaimed, giving him a little shove backwards.

"A place of our own? Is that what you really want?" Chuck asked, laying back on her bed, his hands behind his head as he mulled it over. He wanted to be one hundred percent positive they were on the same page.

"Yes," Blair confirmed as she sat up slightly. "But! Only if that's what you want as well," she quickly added. "I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for or something you'll regret later on-"

"How soon is dinner?" Chuck interrupted her as he suddenly sat up. An idea having come to him.

"Dinner?" Blair questioned, confused by his question out of the blue. "I don't know, maybe an hour or so?"

Chuck looked down at his watch to note the time. "An hour... perfect!" he declared. He then leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before standing to slide on his shoes. "I'll be back shortly."

"Chuck?" Blair called after him, following to the edge of the bed behind him. She was completely perplexed by his sudden actions.

"I just remembered something – I promise, I'll be back before dinner," he assured her with his trademark smirk before leaning down and giving her one more kiss. "I promise," he spoke once more against her lips before pulling away, quickly heading out into the hallway and down the staircase, pulling his jacket on as he went, texting his driver to pull the car around and quickly looking around for Dorota as he knew he was going to need her help in pulling off his plan before dinner.

Blair remained on the edge of her bed, not quite sure what to make of her boyfriend. While he did assure her he would return soon enough, the insecure part of herself that she often kept locked in the far corner of her mind couldn't help but wonder if her talk of moving in together and taking the next step in their relationship scared him off.

* * *

Blair was lounging across her bed, flipping through the latest issue of Vanity Fair when her phone suddenly buzzed a little while later. Noting that it was a text message from Chuck, she sat up and immediately began to get nervous.

"He's not coming," she told herself with a sad sigh, preparing herself for the worse as she flipped her phone open to read it. "You just had to ruin a good thing," she muttered as she hit the button to open his message.

 _Meet me on the roof. Now._

Blair furrowed her brow in confusion. "The roof?" she mouthed as she read it over again. Curious as to what he was doing up on her roof, she made her way to the edge of the bed and slipped on a pair of shoes.

* * *

By the time Blair arrived upstairs to her mother's rooftop garden and patio it was already getting dark, despite it being May. If it weren't for the golden glowing twinkle lights someone had set up all along the walkway and garden she would have needed a candle or flashlight to find Chuck among the flowers. Looking around, the garden looked beautiful – almost magical. And absolutely romantic. She had no doubt that Chuck was definitely up to something – while most would never know, Chuck Bass was for sure a romantic at heart and he made sure that she knew it every chance he had.

Following the illuminated path, she soon spotted him, looking out across the city – their city – against the moonlit sky. She could swear she heard the faint sound of Moon River playing from somewhere nearby.

"Chuck?" she softly spoke as she approached, not wanting to startle him. Upon hearing her speak his name, he turned to face her. A boyish grin on his face and an appropriate size bouquet of pink peonies in hand.

"These are for you," he smiled as he handed her the bouquet. Instinctively she inhaled their wonderful scent.

"Thank you, Chuck – they're lovely, but why...?" she wondered, unsure of what was going on.

"Here, dance with me," he insisted as he carefully took her flowers and sat them aside, gently wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her hand in his. "About what you said earlier..." he began a moment later after they had found their rhythm. "About taking our relationship to the next level..." he paused, causing Blair to nod her head in confirmation. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been thinking about it for quite some time now... and then some," he admitted. "But about getting a place of our own..." he paused once more, this time halting them both in their steps. "Blair, if we do this, I want to do it right," he confessed to her as he slid his hands off her and took a step back.

"Chuck?" Blair nervously spoke, unsure of what he was saying. _Do it right? Whatever could he mean by that?_ Her mind was racing, causing her to begin to panic. She had closed her eyes and didn't notice him reaching into his pocket nor did she notice the little black box he had removed from it.

"Blair," he softly called to her as he gently reached over and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. He realized he must have inadvertently caused her to panic. "Blair, don't cry," he tried once more. "Blair, look at me," he requested, causing her to finally open her eyes, however she continued to bite her lower lip. "You know my past, you know my history. You know parts of me that no one else does," he spoke to her. "And you know I love you, don't you?" he asked, causing her to quickly nod, however she had to close her eyes once more and wipe away more tears. He was being so sweet she couldn't stop them from falling. "Out of all the women I've encountered in my life, you are the smartest, sexiest, most gorgeous, most striking, most fiery, most passionate and most powerful woman I've ever met."

"And did you forget most demanding, most manipulative, most conniving and bitchy too?" Blair added with a slight smile as she wiped away more tears.

"No, no I didn't," Chuck quietly laughed. She was right – those were all traits of hers as well. Traits that he loved and embraced just as much as the others. "But regardless of all that," he continued. "You, Blair, are the only one I could ever actually see myself with," he informed her as his right hand reached across them and slid down along her left hand, taking it in his.

Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, Chuck made his next move: getting down in front of her on one knee and with his thumb, gently opening the little black box for her to see.

"Blair Cornelia Waldorf... will you marry me?" he finally managed to ask, looking up at her hopefully, his heart frantically racing.

"Oh my god!" Blair gasped as she saw the ring, then looked to him, and then back to the ring and then back at him, her mouth agape. "But Chuck... if we're doing things 'right', you have to ask daddy first," she sheepishly told him.

"Who says I didn't?" he rhetorically spoke with his smirk.

"What? But when!?" Blair demanded to know, curious as to when he had found the time in the past hour to reach her father. It was already in the wee hours of morning in France.

"When I had the ring made last summer, while we were visiting your father at his chateau," Chuck continued to smirk as he decided to stand once more. "I told you, I've been thinking about our next step for quite some time-" he spoke only to be interrupted by her suddenly pulling him towards her by his collar, her lips crashing against his.

She loved this man so much, he made her so happy in ways she never knew she could be.

"Is that a yes?" Chuck questioned a moment later, regretfully pulling his lips away from hers in order to obtain a verbal answer from her.

"Yes, Chuck – that's a yes," she answered with a playful hint of annoyance that he had ended their kissing.

Knowing her all too well, Chuck shook his head with a slight chuckle as he removed the ring from it's box and delicately slid it on her finger. Holding her hand and marveling at it for a moment before taking her hand to his lips and softly laying a kiss upon it.

"Shall we tell them at dinner?" Blair suggested as she wrapped her arms around her fiance.

"I think that would be appropriate," Chuck agreed as he wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close to him and resuming their celebratory, passionate kisses among the lighted rooftop garden.

* * *

"Oh! Blair, Charles! Good, you're both here – go have a seat at the table, dinner will be served momentarily," Eleanor stated as she spotted the happy couple in the foyer.

"Of course, Chuck is here," Vanessa grumbled as Chuck helped Blair into her seat at the table. "We're celebrating me finding an apartment... why not?"

"Oh we're celebrating more than that," Blair remarked with a smirk of her own. "MUCH more," she added for emphasis, purposely causing Vanessa to sneer. She couldn't wait to steal the girl's moment.

"Chuck, son, were you able to look into my inquiry regarding the building owner?" Cyrus questioned, either ignoring the girls or just not hearing them, Blair wasn't sure.

"Ah yes, Edmund Salamund... while the man can be a bit kooky and unconventional, he is quite the solid, established businessman," Chuck informed him. "I wouldn't worry."

"And here comes the bird," Eleanor announced as she made way for the chef to bring in the delicious famed chicken.

"If you could each take your glass, I'd like to propose a toast," Cyrus insisted as he paused to wait for everyone and for Eleanor to be seated. "To Vanessa, dear... we know it's been a hard few weeks for you but we're glad to see you back on your feet and happy to have helped!" the older man beamed with pride.

"Chuck and I also have an announcement," Blair declared before everyone had even finished taking a sip of their champagne, quickly rising to her feet and motioning for Chuck to follow.

"Oh?" Cyrus inquired, curious but with a smile forming on his lips as he could tell the young couple were excited.

"Yes," Blair confirmed before continuing. "After visiting Vanessa's new... place... a thought had occurred to me that perhaps it was time for Chuck and I to take the next step and see about getting a place of our own."

" _Not_ in Dumbo, of course," Chuck quickly added with a nervous laugh before Blair's mother could speak.

"Blair darling – need I remind you, you are a Waldorf and Waldorf women don't go shacking up with their boyfriends, no offense Charles," Eleanor pointed out.

"None taken, ma'am and honestly, I feel the same which is why I told Blair that if we were to move in together, I would want to do it right," he informed his future mother-in-law.

"Oh?" Eleanor questioned with a raised eyebrow, wondering just what they meant by that.

"Yes, mother," Blair spoke up, growing impatient. "Which is why... Chuck asked me to marry him!" Blair squealed in excitement as she revealed the ring on her finger.

"Congratulations!" Cyrus exclaimed as he jumped up and reached over to shake Chuck's hand.

"Oh my goodness! Would you look at that ring?!" Eleanor gasped in awe at the newest piece the younger Bass had given her daughter. And she had thought the necklace he gave her for her seventeenth birthday was exquisite. He certainly had excellent taste when it came to jewelry. His father had taught him well in that regard, she decided.

Vanessa merely sat there and slumped in her seat, disappointed but not surprised that Chuck and Blair had once again trumped her. She never stood a chance and never would. While she was grateful for Cyrus and Eleanor's hospitality these past few weeks, she was just as happy to be moving out as Blair was to have her gone. As everyone gushed over Blair's ring and the news, she proceeded to help herself to the chicken, completely unnoticed. She was used to it by now.

* * *

 _AN: Hey everyone! Just another quick one-shot! I had a Chair dream last night and this was pretty much the (fleshed out) gist of it. Completely AU in some parts, as (like you read in the description), it takes place at the end of s3, the whole mess with the hotel trade and later Jenny never happened and something happened with Vanessa at the dorms near the end of the semester (no idea what - in the dream she was just there) that caused her to have to move out, with Cyrus (and in turn Eleanor) taking pity on her and allowing her to stay with them until she got back on her feet._

 _And don't worry for those that follow me - I haven't forgotten about Chairytale or A Royal Affair. Both have their next chapters in progress, I just haven't had a whole lot of free time to work on the rest as between parenting, work and other life occasions by the time kids are in bed and I do have some free time I'm completely beat. They both will be updated (and completed eventually) sometime soon though - I promise!_

 _Praise and constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks for reading!_


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